Obsession
by SilverSnikle
Summary: Lois has a new obsession. Born of my curiosity of how things may have turned out if Lois had never gone to the future - Clois
1. Chapter 1

*Author's note - A few minutes after I uploaded this, I realized I had posted the first draft, not the final draft. So, sorry! I fixed it though, so I hope it's a little better of a read now.

Obsessed

Lois tapped her finger against the phone's screen. The app loaded and she swiped her finger down the screen, forcing it to reload. _Nothing new._ She tapped the screen again to bring up a different app. As it loaded she tapped her pen against her desk.

She couldn't really explain the new obsession. It just seemed to be the best way to keep up with The Blur's activities was through social media. Obviously, she couldn't be everywhere at once, so having others do her legwork was very convenient. _Nothing new on Twitter either._

"Lois?" She glanced up from her phone. Clark's expression made her forehead wrinkle. _Why is he always so serious?_

"Uh huh?" She looked back at her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Scouting for my next big story." She tossed the pen onto her desk and locked her phone.

"From your desk? If someone on the internet is already writing about it, then how could it be _your_ next big story?" He twisted back and forth in his chair. Lois tried to ignore the smile now spreading across his lips.

"For your information, most people don't see the deeper story, or the whole truth, to the things they post online. If something catches my attention, I investigate farther; see how far the story goes."

"How much deeper can the Blur's most recent save go?"

"Who knows? But if anyone can find out, it's me," she raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Fact." Clark had stopped twisting and was now leaning forward on his desk toward her. "So, see anything worth investigating further?"

"Ugh, there hasn't been any new information in like..." Lois looked at the time on her phone, "Twenty minutes." She ignored the fact that his grin spread wider, now showing teeth.

"Well then, lunch?" He stood and stretched, waiting for her reply.

Lois glanced down at her phone. _Come on alerts!_ She looked back at Clark and sighed, "Sure, why not?"

The cafe was not as busy as it should have been at noon. Lois frowned, wishing for more excitement. Clark was across from her, examining his sandwich. He had his head tilted to the side; it reminded her of Shelby.

"I um, have to use the restroom." He almost sprinted to the back of the small space. Lois wondered why he waited 'til the last minute to go. He was a grown man; it was kind of weird. _Another quirk that is Clark Kent._ Lois added it to the growing list in her head.

She stabbed a piece of carrot, popping it in her mouth. She couldn't hold back the grin when her phone beeped happily at her. Her eyes lit up as she pulled the phone from her pocket to examine the new data.

"Whatcha lookin at?" Clark slid back into his seat. _That was quick._ She opened the alert and stared at the picture. Someone had uploaded a new graphic to Tumblr. Nothing new though, just a manipulation, or manip, of a few photos she'd seen plenty of times before.

"Nothing new. I mean, is he taking the day off? Or are crime and accidents on a vacation today? I don't get it." Lois frowned at her phone before placing it back in her pocket.

"Maybe he's at lunch?" Clark giggled into his sandwich. Lois worried about him. _Lunch? Really?_ She seriously doubted the Blur took time off for lunch. Clark could be seriously dense at times.

"Right. He decided to eat a pastrami sandwich with a friend and just let horrible things occur around him for the hour. Sure." She scoffed and picked her fork back up.

"All I'm saying is, I'm sure the guy has to eat. And if he chooses to spend that time with a friend, who's to blame him? I doubt that he would just ignore his duties during that time though." Clark could feel the start of a headache from putting that defense together. It was difficult to defend Clark Kent and the Blur in one statement.

He was worried about Lois too. The Blur, much to his dismay, had become a celebrity. It was all good that he could make people feel safe and inspire them to fight for themselves. He wasn't fond of _all_ the attention, though. Of course, it wasn't as if he had to directly deal with the attention, but he heard about it from Chloe. She told him about the hysteria on the internet. There were groups of fanatic women obsessed with him, "The Blur" him, and they really kind of gave him the creeps.

Lois was picking at her salad, which was very not Lois. Lois was a very stunning woman, but she wasn't one of _those_ women; the kind who ordered a salad and then picked at it. Lois was an eater. If she ordered it, she devoured it, and not always gracefully. Granted, she was usually in a rush to get somewhere, but that wasn't any excuse to be messy.

Clark frowned, Lois hadn't really been out much lately. She just sat at her desk almost the entire workday. He knew she was waiting for something new about the Blur to pop up. He just wished she'd go looking for a story again, the way she used to. He missed seeing the fire in her eyes when she came back to the Planet hot off her newest lead.

There had to be something Clark could do to get Lois back in her own game. They needed a good story to chase. Even as the Blur, he hadn't seen much excitement lately, at least nothing front-page worthy. He frowned. He knew he couldn't just formulate a story, but that idea was very enticing.

"Is your salad not impressive enough?"

"I guess I'm not really hungry after all." Lois was staring at her plate of practically untouched food.

"You want me to grab you a box?"

"Nah, I would just forget about it anyhow." She slid off her stool. "I'm gonna head back to the Planet, see if I can't get some work done."

Before Clark could think of an excuse to keep her there, she was out the front door. He really was hungry. That "bathroom break" save had been on the other side of town. He knew Lois would probably get an alert about it on her short walk back to the office. At least that should put her in a slightly better mood. She always enjoyed the stories that involved fire.

Lois stared at the picture on her phone. The Blur had saved people from a burning apartment building. See, he wasn't at lunch after all. He was on the other side of town saving lives while she and Clark were enjoying comfort foods. Well, Clark was enjoying his food. Lois was too lost in her thoughts to even take a real bite. Her stomach gurgled at her and she sighed. She should have eaten.

She opened an email to find a lead on a new story from her supervisor. Great, now her boss was throwing her story leads. She read over the material and raised an eyebrow. It seemed interesting enough. And the fact that she would get a chance to dig into the dealings of Tess Mercer just added to the appeal. Evidently LuthorCorp was building some self-sufficient tower or something. It seemed like the "Green" act of the century, but Lois doubted the red-head's intentions. Tess always seemed to have ulterior motives for her acts of decency. Lois's stomach growled, loudly.

"I boxed it up anyhow. Thought you'd need it?" Clark dropped the salad on Lois's desk. He looked apologetic. Had she really been that hard on him today?

"Oh thanks. Actually, my stomach spoke up right as I got back and made me regret my decision to leave it behind. Although, I'm wishing I had ordered something a little more filling. She took the top off her left-overs and began shoveling the lettuce into her mouth. Half of Clark's sandwich suddenly appeared on top of her greens. She smiled around her mouthful.

"I know a salad wouldn't fill me up." Clark's twisted grin made Lois's heart flip, but she would never admit that.

"Whatcha tryin' to say Smallville?" She cocked her head to the side and gave him her best hurt look. When his grin straightened out it was all she could do not to smile.

"I just..."

"No matter. It just so happens, I'm too hungry to argue with you. Oh! We have a new story too." She quickly forwarded him the email. "Check your inbox."

Clark shook his head. She was all over the map today. Melancholy, angry, playful, focused. He pulled up the email and read over it quickly. It seemed like a pretty cut and dried story on the surface, but nothing involving Tess was ever what it seemed. He had dealt with her enough to know better. Even though she had made reference to saving the planet on his, and her, first day at the Daily Planet, he had found out that wasn't the whole truth. He knew this tower had to stand for much more than just a breakthrough in energy conservation.

First, he wanted to look into this RAO company. He had never even heard of them before, especially considering they were large enough to set this big of a plan into motion alongside LuthorCorp. This seeming start-up company had made advances in energy that seemed years into the future, and he had only seen the simplest explanation about this new technology in the email.

"Well, I'm going to talk to Tess about this tower thing. See if she'd like to make an official statement for the article." Lois stood up and smoothed out her skirt. Clark had a feeling she did it for purely torturous reasons. That made him smile. He couldn't deny he enjoyed that particular form of torture.

Clark took the opportunity to call Chloe. She could do some background work on this RAO Inc.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chloe can you do some research for me?"

"Sure Clark. I've just finished up some recon for Oliver. What did you have in mind?"

"Tess has partnered with a start-up company for her newest project, some energy-efficient tower."

"Okay, not sure why you feel the need to call on Watchtower for this, but for you Clark, anything." The sarcasm in her voice was not lost on Clark. He didn't really have any explanation to offer, other than the feeling in his gut.

"Something about it just rubs me the wrong way."


	2. Chapter 2

Lois pulled her jacket tighter. Honestly, it was probably close to 75 degrees out, but standing in the shadows, a strong breeze was sending chills through her. The fencing around the construction site created a tunnel for the wind. After failing to find Tess at the Daily Planet for a quote, Lois had decided to check out the construction site. Clark had taken off on some sort of lead, so she was scouting alone. She didn't mind, not really, even if she had gotten used to having a partner. She was still better alone. _Easier __to __move __solo._

There wasn't much she could see with the contractor's fence blocking her view, but the loud noises were evidence enough that the crews were busy at work. She slid behind a camper and peaked through a window. No one was inside, but she spotted a jumpsuit and hard hat. A smile spread over her lips. _This __should __be __fun._

With her new overalls zipped up and her hard hat secure, Lois pulled out her phone. Evidently while she was changing, the Blur had saved an undercover cop's life. Something about his cover being blown, but the Blur showed up in time to pull him out of the deal about to go down. Then he had tied up the drug dealers with their 'product' neatly stacked on their laps. She grinned. And then she frowned.

Here she was playing dress up to sneak onto a construction site (_oh __joy_) while she could be interviewing the cop for details about how he suspects the Blur knew he needed back-up. With a heavy sigh, Lois slipped on a pair of safety glasses and picked up her gloves. She needed to focus. She couldn't have the by line for every Blur story.

/

Clark frowned. Chloe had handed him a folder filled with documents pertaining to RAO, but he wasn't sure what he was holding. He looked up at his blonde friend, his forehead wrinkled and his eyebrow arched.

"So, I'm not sure how much you know about radiation, but that's what all those test results are. I'm still trying to determine how the radiation fits into the save-the-planet game plan." She was watching Clark carefully. He knew it was harder for Chloe to read him lately. He'd actually worked very hard at that. She knew him better than anyone; to keep her from seeing what he was thinking was the ultimate feat. He could tell it was frustrating her. She was getting impatient, "So?"

"I'm not the expert Chloe. Is there anything else I should know about?" He sat the folder down on her desk. Chloe was studying him, her gaze steady.

"There is one thing... Seems Tess had no knowledge of this research. It was all conducted by RAO and it was buried pretty deep. Unless she knew what she was looking for, I'm sure she would never see it."

It was very interesting that Tess had been left out of the loop. Especially about something that seemed to be such an integral part of her newest pet project. He did not like that, at all. He was an expert at hiding things, and he'd had an impossible time hiding from Tess. For someone else to succeed in blindsiding her so easily was a strike to his pride. This was someone to be feared. He needed to know just who he was dealing with.

"What about the company itself? What's its history?"

Chloe typed something onto a computer. "Seems it was recently bought out. The new owners gave it the name RAO. Previously it was Integral Inc." She read the information to Clark.

Clark was her greatest and oldest friend. Everything she had ever done had been to protect him. Yet, she hadn't been completely honest with him in recent months. Her guilt seemed to be manifesting itself as a cold shoulder. She could tell Clark was trying to keep her at arm's length, and she knew it was only in response to her keeping him at a distance. Clark probably hadn't thought too hard about it all. Chloe had a feeling he blamed it all on his inability to protect Jimmy from Davis. He had destroyed Doomsday, but failed to see the threat that was left behind. What Clark didn't know was that she had forgiven him for that mistake. She had played her own part in that whole drama.

"Thanks. I better get back to the Planet in case Lois has made it back from her scouting trip."

Chloe let out a sigh of relief when her hair blew back from her face. By the time she sat down at her desk she knew Clark was already walking through the bullpen doors. She nestled her headset onto her ear and picked back up scanning the city. Oliver was on patrol and he should have been finished with the muggers she sent him to deal with before Clark had arrived.

"Watchtower to Arrow."

"Arrow is alive."

"Ready for new coordinates?"

"Been ready for a good ten minutes."

"Sorry, had to give Boyscout some research material for the duo's next front pager."

/

Clark twisted anxiously in his chair. Lois wasn't back yet and he really didn't have anything he could do from his desk. He tapped his foot and thought over the info Chloe had given him. It didn't make any sense; Tess wasn't one to overlook details. She would have gone over the tower's plans with a fine toothed comb. He thought about all the documents from the email Lois had forwarded him. He pulled the email back up on his computer and began scanning over them again. He stopped scrolling and stared at the screen. _Ah __hah._

Tess had signed a contact with Integral, not RAO. The new company had taken over after the initial business deal. The buy-out must have been a shock to her. He was sure Tess would have never put this large of a project in the hands of a company likely to be bought out before the conclusion of her tower.

He leaned back in his chair, proud. Movement at the elevator made him turn his head. Lois was grinning ear-to-ear. She had a hard hat under one arm and a pile of papers in her other hand. _What __is __she __wearing?_ Clark kept his expression neutral, but internally he was doubled over with laughter. She had on a pair of overalls.

"Not a word Smallville! I found something _very_ interesting at the site." She dropped the papers onto Clark's desk and smiled in triumph.

"You killed a small forest? Congratulations." Lois's expectant look annoyed him, but only slightly. _She's __back._

"Ugh. Look at them. Clark, these plans show something very different from the tower plans in our email."

Clark looked down at his disaster of a desk again. He recognized some of the same designs from the folder Chloe had showed him. RAO had made adjustments to the original schematics. _What __wa__s __their __e__nd __game?_

"Oh, yeah you're right. So what's that mean? You know _why_ they've made the improvements?" He started gathering up the files neatly.

"Not yet. But I think it's a glorious find! How about you? Any luck with that lead?" She sat on the corner of his desk, her arms crossed. He wondered just how dirty that jumpsuit was.

"The only thing I found was that the company Tess originally planned to have build the tower was bought out by this RAO." He shrugged as if this information wasn't all that interesting.

"Are you kidding me? Huh. It's almost as if whomever purchased the company needed Tess to sign the paperwork before they took over. They were waiting." She was chewing on her bottom lip and Clark couldn't look away, a grin spreading onto his lips. "The question then, is why?"

He almost groaned when she stuck her lip out in a pout. He had been trying very hard to ignore the way Lois made him feel, but she never made that easy. He cleared his throat and ran a hand down his tie, smoothing it. His movements seemed to draw Lois back to the present long enough for her to realize she was still propped up on Clark's desk wearing nasty construction overalls.

"Well, I better clean up, and get started on a rough draft." She hopped off his desk and disappeared through the bullpen doors.

/

Lois brushed her hair out and up into a pony tail. Examining her work in the mirror she realized she had forgotten lipstick. _Duh_. Her lips were dry and pouty after her time in that wind tunnel of an alley earlier. She applied chap-stick before color to help heal the damage.

Her phone beeped at her and she snatched it up from the side of the sink. _A __new __alert_. She clicked to open the new image and her heart fluttered. It was the Blur's shield set over a wonderful set of pecs. As she stared at the picture she smiled wondering what the real Blur's chest would look like. She scrolled down to see the past images on her dashboard. Shaking her head, Lois slid the phone back into her pocket.

It had been too long since the Blur had directly contacted her. She felt silly and more than a little teenybopper-ish, or tweeny, whatever they were calling it now. Something told her the majority of the accounts she followed online were run by high-school aged girls. But Lois couldn't stop herself. She felt a surge of energy every time something new appeared. It wasn't comparable to the feeling she got from a phone-booth rendezvous; but this was evidently all she had now.

She looked herself over in the mirror once more before heading back to her desk. Lois almost felt bad for Clark as she walked out the bathroom doors. The back-up outfit she'd had on hand was a little different from her normal office wear. She self-consciously pulled at the hem of her skirt and failed miserably to ignore the slack-jawed farm boy as she walked to her chair.

"I'm hungry. You want anything Lane?" Clark stood up, almost knocking over a cup of cold coffee in the process.

"No, thanks. I'll be good for another couple of hours." She smiled sweetly at her co-worker then shifted her eyes back to her computer monitor. She could see Clark still, hovering at the side of her desk, taking in her outfit. "Thought you were hungry Kent?"

"I, um, yeah. See ya in a bit." Lois held her eyes steady on the screen until she heard the elevator doors ding shut. The smile that spread over her lips was positively devilish. She ignored the knot in her stomach and set to work.

"Earth to Clark!" Chloe couldn't help but stare at him. She hadn't seen Clark show this much emotion since Lana had left him the infamous break-up video. Something was going on, and she wasn't sure she remembered how to handle Clark's human side. She had become quite accustomed to the new 'Robo-Clark' operating system.


	3. Chapter 3

Part of Chloe struggled to keep up the wall dividing her emotions and her motivation. This Clark in front of her couldn't be real. Clark had come back from his training with Jor-El sure of himself, proud. He held his head high and had an air about him that breathed superiority. This man in dress slacks and a dress shirt with his head in his hands sitting on the couch was not that Clark. This was the Clark she thought was long gone, the Clark that used to pout and brood over simple human desires. This certainly was not the Clark that kept humanity at arms length so as to be their savior.

She hesitated before going to sit beside her friend. _Friend. _Such a simple, yet meaningful word. They had never stopped being friends, not really, yet that word seemed foreign. Did watching his movements on monitors and conversing about the latest threats to Metropolis really constitute friendship? She shook the thought from her head and laid a gentle arm over his shoulders. Biting her lip she began to gently rub circles on his arm.

Clark felt ridiculous. He was grown man; he needed to get a hold of himself. The look in Chloe's eyes made him feel guilty. She was stunned, scared, and confused. And over what? Because of his reaction to the four lettered word that had popped into his mind at the site of Lois coming back to her desk?

"Clark..." Chloe's voice was soft, uncertain.

"I'm sorry." They were sitting on the couch in Watchtower.

"It's okay. But just so we're on the same page. What _exactly_ are you sorry about?"

"I'm a grown man. And if anyone knows that there are plenty of real, horrible problems in this world it's me. But here I am."

Despite her deep relationship with Clark, Chloe was completely lost. She'd seen him have break-downs before, but not since... Lana. Chloe couldn't stop the shudder than ran through her. She knew Clark could feel it. His expression changed to concern.

"Clark, I have to be completely honest with you. I am very lost right now."

"At your wedding, I was dancing. Lois and I were dancing. Before _she_ showed up." Chloe knew who the 'she' in his sentence referred to, and shuddered again. "I almost, we, our lips were _so_ close, Chloe." His frown was so deep she wondered if a human's skin would have just held that crease forever.

"I remember. Lois fled, and you got your dream girl." Chloe's chest was tightening up. Where was he going with all this?

"I- she is amazing. I tried to ignore it; I know where these feelings lead. No where good, no where happy." He looked into Chloe's eyes. "I love her."

Chloe just stared back at him. The whole world knew this, it was no revelation. The confusing part was why he was having a meltdown now, two years after she had left?

"I know, Clark. I miss her too." She put a hand on her friend's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. She watched as his expression changed. It flashed confusion, and then clarity, and settled finally on amusement. Chloe wasn't sure how to react. Had her dearest friend finally lost it? Had his fate caught up to him, become too much to handle? She knew Clark, that wasn't possible. And yet, here he was, his eyes, still wet from exhaustive pain, lit up with laughter, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Lois."

Chloe blinked. Oh.

"Oh."

"Yeah." The two friends turned, facing forward. They just sat there side-by-side and stared into the nothingness in front of them.

/

Lois frowned at her screen. She had been writing and re-writing her intro for the past thirty minutes. She just couldn't seem to get it out the way she wanted. She would type up a paragraph and proof it, then highlight the entire thing and press delete. She picked up her phone. Frowning, she sat it back down without pressing a single button.

/

"Clark. Even you deserve to be happy. Lois is _not_ Lana." She really didn't mean to grunt out loud there. "Not even close."

/

Lois left her desk to refill her coffee. She needed to move around a bit and then start over fresh.

/

Clark put an arm around Chloe. It was kind of awkward at first, but after a minute it felt natural. He felt her lean into him, relax. He smiled, missing how easy things used to be between them. This was exactly why his father worried about him.

"Jor-El wants me to be separate from my human self. To let that part go, to be at one with my destiny and finally be able to protect you all. And I quote, 'Just as your passions will be your greatest strength, so too will it be your greatest obstacle'."

Chloe took a moment to get her mouth and her brain on the same page. That was the most important lesson she'd learned in recent years. Think before you speak, especially with Clark. Even though he was typically the first to forgive a slip of her tongue, he was usually the most hurt by them as well.

"Clark," she took a deep breath and just let it out, "Your willingness to sacrifice yourself for others _is_ a great strength, for sure, but when it comes to your own happiness, it is definitely a weakness. She was starting to get a better understanding for this whole melt down. "For once, try not to second-guess things."

Chloe could see the internal struggle in his eyes as if watching a physical one on the big screen. "All you have to ask yourself is: what do _you_ want?"

/

Lois smiled at the screen, finally! She had said what she wanted to say, and in the voice she wanted to say it in. She leaned back in her chair and took in a deep breath of accomplishment. Her phone dinged and she immediately sat forward to grab it. She had a new email, but it wasn't from anyone on her contacts list. She raised an eyebrow and opened the file.

TO: Lois Lane (.com)  
>FROM: Speedy Gonzales () I know it's been a long time since my last contact, and for that I apologize. It's been a busy couple of months. I'm writing to inform you I have found something interesting regarding your latest story. It seems that once the tower is operational, it's going to transform our sun's color to red. I'm still researching what the effects of this might be, but I thought two heads may be better than one on this. Your favorite Phone-booth Caller<p>

Lois stared blankly at the words on her phone. She was ecstatic to have The Blur contact her again, but why through e-mail? And was this tower thing such a big deal that he would feel the need to enlist her help?

Clark came through the bullpen doors ready to talk to Lois about the things he'd discussed with Chloe (well maybe not all of it). He wasn't quite ready to reveal his biggest secret. He stopped before Lois saw him approaching. She was staring at her phone... again.

"Lois."

She turned her head to him, the look of concern distorting her features slowly melting away.

"Clark. I have some new information." Clark slowly moved forward.

"Lois, -" still walking.

"The tower's radiation, it may be more important than we had thought."

"Lois, we need to talk." He was now only three steps away.

"The radiation is going to turn our sun red." Clark was directly in front of her now. "We need to find out how, and what this could do to our-" Lois's words were cut short against Clark's full lips.

Lois had been ranting about something, she knew it was important, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was. The only thing she knew for certain now was that Clark Kent had the softest, most gentle lips in the entire world. Sure, she hadn't any way of proving that, but she didn't need to, she knew it was simply a fact. And then, as the kiss deepened, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, she realized something else. She had felt these lip on hers before. In a dark alley, with Jimmy Olsen, she had kissed these very lips thinking they belonged to Oliver.

"Clark." Lois pushed against his pecs and opened her eyes to stare into his. "You know about Oliver?"

Clark just stared at her. He had just claimed her lips in the middle of their workplace, and that's what she wanted to know?

"I, well, yeah."

Lois punched his shoulder. "You, scheming little..." Lois stopped herself. _Wait._ Had Clark Kent really just pulled her into a passionate kiss? She looked around her, dozens of heads jerking their eyes away. _Yup._ He sure had, right in front of all the Daily Plane staffers. _This should be fun._

"I'm sorry." Clark reached out to touch her arm, apologetically. Lois smiled down at the spot where he was touching her, before she could stop herself.

"No worries. I'm sure you remember my explanation of that night in the arms of The Green Arrow? You have nothing to apologize for." She winked at Clark and mentally gave herself a point as his cheeks brightened up a little. "Except, maybe for holding out on me so long." And there was the full blush. Lane two, Kent zero.

Clark forced a smile and slid his fingers further around her arm, gripping it slightly. "What do you say we go for a little walk, eh?"

"Ooh, good idea." Her eyes lit up.

He didn't let go of her until they were alone on the roof of the Planet. Neither of them was sure exactly what to say. Sure, there had been feelings building up between them for a long time, but Lois wasn't exactly sure how to deal with this turn of events.

"Look, Lois. I'm sorry if that was… I mean, I hope I didn't over step." He stopped and waited, not sure what else he could say, just hoping she would say something.

"No, Clark. But um, it was definitely out of left field. I mean, I know I talk a lot, but I'm sure there are easier ways to shut me up." She winked at him playfully.

"I was planning to talk to you, but you weren't really giving me a chance to say anything, I guess I just sort of got lost in the moment." He was focused on the ground in front of him.

Lois stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest. He pulled his eyes up to meet hers, hopeful. Her smile was evident in her gaze and Clark exhaled.


	4. Chapter 4

Clark had wanted to fix Lois. He had wanted the old Lois back. It had been all he had wanted for weeks. He had spent the last few weeks trying to pull her out of the digital world she'd been living in. He had succeeded. And then she had jumped on the first plane out of the city.

Clark came to a stop inside the doors of Watchtower.

"Hey. If you raced here to see me, it must mean the 'I love Lois' show was preempted this week." Chloe glanced up at him over the top of her monitor, a smile evident in her eyes.

"Come on, you know I always speed over when you call. Although, I may be responsible for your cousin vanishing from prime time." He watched as Chloe stood and moved to one of the other monitors in the room, tapping away at the keys.

"I was wondering why she skipped town without saying goodbye. What's up?" She turned her back to the monitor, arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow. Clark knew that look all too well. Chloe may have left a career in journalism, but journalism had never left her heart.

He thought about the best way to approach the subject, and then remembered, this was Chloe. It was always best to just say it right out with her. She'd get it out of him anyhow. "I uh... I kissed her."

He knew he had the face of a child waiting to be reprimanded. Not that he thought Chloe would be mad. It was more of a reaction to his own thoughts.

"Oh yeah! That would definitely send her packing." Clark's look of sorrow morphed into one of defense. "I mean, no offense to you, Clark. It's just, Lois's typical response to intimacy is to blow out of town."

"I just don't know what happened. I went over there to talk to her. The next thing I know, I couldn't stop myself." He couldn't stop himself now from envisioning it. The feel of her lips against his. The way her fingers had slid into the hair at the nape of his neck. He shook his head as if to fling the thoughts across the room.

Chloe was laughing at him. "Yeah, I'm not surprised Clark. You've had feelings for Lois since like, the 1930's. I was wondering when you were gonna make your move." She adopted a more serious tone, obviously forcing the laughter out of her voice, "Look, just take my word for it. Give her a little bit of space, and in the meantime... My LuthorCorp mole dug up some more information on RAO."

Clark knew this information had to be worth more than a front page byline, simply by the way Chloe said it. "How bad is it?"

/

Lois was shaking her head back and forth. What was wrong with her? Hadn't she been letting her gazes linger just a little longer than necessary? Hadn't her heart fluttered softly at every 'hello'? Had she not been purposefully tempting him? Of course she had. Had she out right admitted her own feelings to herself? _Nope._

And now what? She had jumped on the first flight, literally, out of Metropolis. She hadn't ever really thought about visiting Louisville, Kentucky. Though, she had a feeling she wouldn't have any difficulty finding a Monster Truck Rally in this town. And that excited her.

After getting a room and settling in, Lois was relaxing on her bed, her phone in her hand. They had made her turn it off on the plane, resulting in many updates once she had landed. Her Tumblr dashboard was full of new information, her favorite of which was a collage of different celebrity males photo-shopped into The Blur's ensemble. She smiled, recognizing one of the stars in particular. He was on a new cable show, in which he portrayed an art thief turned FBI consultant.

Her phone buzzed and a new text alert popped up in the middle of her phone's screen. _Chloe._ That's what Lois gets for skipping town without saying bye. Chloe's message said she was just checking up on her. Lois knew what that meant. Clark had obviously talked to her cousin. Those two were like high school cheerleaders in regards to drama. They told each other all the breaking news. Though, Lois had noticed their relationship had seemed a bit strained since Jimmy's death, which could have something to do with the fact that Clark had pulled a disappearing act of his own. She shrugged it off; Clark and Chloe's relationship could work through anything.

_Relationship._ The word made her shudder. She wondered momentarily why it made her shiver. She knew she didn't have a great track record with that word. But was the idea of one, a relationship, with Clark really so scary? The more she pondered on it, the more obvious the answer became. _Nope._

Over the past year they had actually become the best of friends. They worked together, ate together; they even spent most of their free time together. If you really wanted to, you could label them as in a relationship already. She smiled at the thought. _Clark and Lois. Well, Lois and Clark._ She giggled despite herself, and tossed her phone into her purse.

She was heading home tomorrow, but tonight she was going to find that Monster Truck Rally.

/

"So, remember that 'Night of the Living Dead' virus? After we realized it was some sort of Kryptonian virus I started running searches for anything Kryptonian with the satellites. Seems we may have a bigger problem than the RAO tower." Chloe chewed her lip (_not a good sign_) between sentences.

"What did you find?" Clark clenched his fists at his sides.

"It seems there are some Kryptonian markings that have shown up around the globe. Clark," she paused and he had a feeling he already knew what she was thinking. "I think there are Kryptonians here on Earth."

Chloe knew as well as he did that his entire birth planet had been blown to pieces, thus all the "meteorites" that had landed with his ship in Smallville. If she was making this statement, she had good reason to do so.

"What else have you found?" He didn't even attempt to hide his emotions from her in that question.

"Considering all that Lex knew and Lionel possessed in connection to your origins, I decided to check on Tess's movements for the past few weeks. Thought she might have some insight into our markings. Turns out there were three weeks of security footage at the mansion wiped clean. I'm not so sure it was Tess who erased it." Chloe turned back to the monitor behind her and typed something in. "And then I found this." She stepped away from the screen and faced Clark.

He took a step forward and stared at the screen. Chloe had brought up a satellite image of a desert landscape. There in the center of the screen was the House of El's symbol. The symbol of hope. He turned his head toward Chloe and didn't need to say anything. He knew she could read his face.

"Tess Mercer has teams around the globe trying to bring the ET's home. Her operatives have had their noses deep in the Turkish desert, sniffing around for weeks. Now, I think that you should wing out there and take a peek yourself." She moved back between him and the monitor, typing something and making the image disappear.

"Unfortunately, my wings are still clipped. I'll fly coach." He meant it as a joke, but hearing it out loud made his heart hurt. He couldn't understand what was holding him back. Now, however was not the time to dwell on it. He moved toward the doors.

"Uh, no, you won't. Oliver can get you there first class." When Clark turned back to look at her, Chloe's expression was... _sheepish_. He almost smiled at the face before remembering her words. Oliver hadn't exactly been Mr. Dependable recently.

"I'll do this by myself." And let's not deny the real reason Clark wanted to go alone. _What if my father really is out there?_

"Why Clark?" Chloe took a step toward him, her hands outstretched. He titled his head and studied her momentarily.

"Come on Chloe." Clark heard the door behind him open.

"Hear you need a lift." Clark didn't turn to see Oliver standing there. He simply let a corner of his mouth curve, keeping his eyes serious. He knew Chloe didn't need ESP to read his mind. _Well played._

_/_

Clark and Oliver had been hiking through the desert for more than just a few hours. Clark was lost in his own thoughts, which were torn between his father and Lois. He knew he needed to stay focused on the task at hand, but that didn't stop him from wondering where exactly she had gotten off to. Or from wondering when she might show her face again. She had seemed so happy on the roof of the Planet after the kiss. They had agreed not to jump to any conclusions about what it meant, but neither of them had said anything about regretting it had happened. He certainly hadn't expected her to run.

"You know, Clark, if you wanted to bury me in the desert for going on that date with Lois, you could've at least taken me to Nevada." Oliver's voice pulled Clark out of his thoughts.

"Oliver, let's not -" He really wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings with Lois's most recent ex.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Oliver cut him off. "I'm still gonna put up a fight, but... we could've hit the strip before the main event, you know what I mean? Maybe a little Blue Man Group. Maybe a little Carrot Top. You know, what I'm getting you next year for Christmas is a sense of humor." He laughed a small chuckle. Then he must have realized Clark wasn't exactly in the mood. "All right, look, we're at the exact coordinates Chloe gave us. I don't see anything for miles but sand. Maybe we need to look deeper."

Clark thought about that. _Deeper, in sand_. "The Kryptonian symbols that we saw at watchtower- they're like high-temperature brands left when a Kandorian first arrives on earth. Out here, the temperature would melt the sand into glass." Clark took a deep breath before letting it out at full force. The sand in front of them was blown away revealing a perfect glass version of his family's symbol.

"Who put your shield out in the middle of nowhere? Jor-El?" Clark turned to look at Oliver. _So, Chloe invited him to play carrier pigeon, but didn't fill him in on all the details._ _Interesting._ Part of Clark was relieved to know there were some things still kept private between him and Chloe. He had to consciously keep the smile from forming on his lips.

"My father. He's here on earth."


	5. Chapter 5

Lois settled into her desk chair and scooted it up tight to her desk. She had only been gone for a day, yet her work email was overflowing. Not to mention, she had stacks of snail mail to sort through on top of that. She didn't waste any time digging in to the pile.

"Oh Earth to Lois. It's like you've been on another planet for the last fifteen minutes." Lois looked around her computer monitor to see Clark smiling back at her. _When did he get here?_She raised an eyebrow.

"Easy, Armstrong. This space case is buried in research. I've got like two weeks' worth of work to catch up on." She pulled out another envelope, ripping it open and yanking out its contents.

"It was sort of a last-minute vacation, wasn't it?" Lois was tempted to lean over and look – no, glare - at him, but there was no need. She could see the smug smile sure to be gracing his lips clearly enough in her mind.

"Yeah, well, I've got a pretty tightly wound bolt reflex." _Crap._She didn't mean to be such an open book. When did she start spewing at the mouth?

"Is this about what happened? Are you turning red?" Lois was staring at the papers in her hand, but she could see Clark had stood up and was leaning over his desk, examining her. She wanted to melt into a puddle of goo and slither away, but she wasn't about to let him know that. _And when did Clark become so, so forward?_

"Believe it or not, my eject-seat malfunction ... Wasn't totally about you." That ought to fix him, put him back in his place. _I hope._

"We should talk about it." But Lois noticed he was sinking back down into his seat. He obviously wasn't pushing to have that conversation right this minute. _Thank you Lord!_

"When I want to talk about it, I'll send up a smoke signal." She stacked the papers neatly on her desk and opened up her first email. Ten minutes later Lois realized she hadn't even gotten herself the first cup coffee. As she pushed her chair away from the desk, getting ready to go fill her cup, she noticed her cup had steam rising from it. She scooted her chair back in and picked up the full cup. She hadn't even seen him pick it up, let alone put it back down. Lois leaned over and glanced at Clark.

He was typing away furiously, seemingly clueless that she was staring at him. Lois shrugged and took a sip. _Oh yeah._ Leave it to Smallville to make her coffee _exactly_right.

A 'ding' from her coat snapped her out of the daze she'd fallen into. She slid her phone out of the pocket and flipped it over to see the screen. _Ooh, a new save!_Lois waited for the image to load, and then she frowned. It was a video. But what she was seeing made her heart stop.

It was a giant wooden crate being opened to reveal men inside with what was obviously drugs. The caption underneath read: "The Blur's Big Catch, Undercover Cops?"

"Hey, Clark. You have to see this!" Lois summoned him with her head. She played the video through again before he made it around the desk to her side. She handed the phone to him silently, what could she say?

/

Clark choked on the bit of doughnut he'd been attempting to swallow. _What the..._He clicked the little replay button and pulled the phone closer to his face. He had not wrapped up this present.

"First, The Blur doesn't call for weeks, and now he's overnighting our boys in blue? Of course, he's probably tail-spinning into the stratosphere because he doesn't have his go-to girl to keep him grounded." Clark almost spat out the doughnut. He hadn't expected Lois to believe this was The Blur's handy work so easily. If Lois thought he could have done this, no one would believe differently. _Ugh_

"There's no way the botched save is the work of The Blur. It's not his M.O." He handed Lois back her phone, shaking his head in honest disbelief.

"I'll admit sugar-coating isn't exactly his style, but the 20-story calling card was unmistakable. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm beginning to lose faith in our resident hero." _No. No, no, no!_

Clark hadn't noticed their editor listening in, "You're breaking my heart, Lane. I need a feature on The Blur's questionable tactics by the end of the day."

Clark was dumbfounded. People flip fast. The Blur is a hero. "You don't really think this is big news, do you?" He put on his best skeptic mask. He really hated defending himself, it always felt so self-serving. This, though, was bad. The Blur was going to need Clark Kent's help to get out of this one.

Their editor's voice broke Clark out of his mental rambling, "Turns out Adrian Pope, the organized crime boss, is still on the street because of The Blur's blunder. The DA's out for blood." Clark wanted to scream, though you wouldn't know it from the blank expression in his face. He had to figure out who had tied the big pretty bow. And try very hard not to strangle them when he did.

The editor turned, and walked out of the bullpen. Clark turned to Lois, who already had her jacket on, and frowned.

"Listen, just see this as an opportunity to investigate both sides of the story."

Lois raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed, "Well, that would require a certain super-someone to actually find five minutes to give me a call."

Clark wanted so badly to defend himself. Talking to Lois as The Blur had been a mistake, she had almost gotten killed. He couldn't let anything happen to her because of him, he'd never be able to live with himself. Before he could think of something else to say - some other way to get Lois to see The Blur's side of the situation - she was gone.

/

"I can't believe she's not picking up." Clark was talking to himself more than anything.

"You freeze the girl out, she's gonna give you a cold shoulder. Hero or not." He turned to face Chloe. _Why does she have to be so blunt?_ He really needed to talk to Lois, as The Blur. He couldn't do that if she didn't answer her darned phone. He knew she had it with her. _It's her lifeline._ She couldn't go five minutes without looking for some sort of update. Knowing her obsession with Blur related news just added to his current confusion. Wouldn't she prefer to have a conversation with him, as opposed to seeing some photos an amateur had taken on the street after one of his saves?

_Evidently not._

He remembered what she had told him recently, something about how 'Most people don't see the deeper story, or the whole truth, to the things they post online.' He needed to remind _her_ of that. Chloe was saying something, but he wasn't really listening. The words blog, twitter, and Facebook made him frown. _Why does everyone want to be so exposed?_

"Why would somebody go through so much trouble to discredit me?" He hated how he seemed to stay confused these days, heck, he'd always spent the majority of his time confused._ It must be a Human/Kryptonian disconnect._You'd think being raised on this planet would have helped, obviously not.

Chloe was smiling ear to ear. _What is up with that?_He frowned deeper. This situation is anything but comical.

"Now, here's the hitch. I think he's actually trying to help you. I discovered five messy, but successful, saves obviously not done by you." Clark wanted to super speed his head into a lead wall. Doesn't he have enough going on with the whole Lois situation? She just got back. Could he not have a simple laid back day, so he could work on getting her to open up to him? _Of course not!_

"They need to be stopped." His own voice surprised him, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. He raised an eyebrow, as Chloe crossed her arms, and added, "Before someone gets hurt." The look she was giving him confused him further. She couldn't seriously think he was jealous. Oliver was out there saving people, and Clark wasn't jealous of him. Well, not jealous of him making saves. Lately, though, he had been sensing he might be losing his best friend to the blonde in green leather. Chloe had been the one constant thing in his life since high school, he wasn't sure he was ready to share her with another "Keeper of the Peace."

Before Chloe could say anything else, he jetted. He already had too much on his plate today to be worrying about his and Chloe's friendship. That would have to wait for a slower news day.

/

Lois was waiting for Clark. It had been one heck of a crazy day. First, she had almost lost her faith in The Blur over a huge misunderstanding. Then, she had, mistakenly, discovered Clark was The Blur. But that 'discovery' had been proved incorrect when The Blur had called a her on a payphone, after saving her from a one hundred story swan-dive, while Clark stood by her side. _I am losing it._

All things considered, it could have been worse. Much worse. The Blur could have been mad about her "tell-all-to-the-world" moment, or she could have been a sidewalk pancake. Thankfully, he was an even better person than she could have known.

Her phone beeped and she looked down at it, lying on her desk. She picked it up and slid into her pocket. Whatever the new update was, it could wait.

Right now, she had a "date" with Smallville in the copy room. Not really a date in the traditional sense, but she wasn't one to complain. She smiled to herself, maybe Clark had a kinky side after all. She giggled at the thought, knowing it wasn't true. He was nothing, if not a stand up guy. Clark probably just wanted her to show him how to work some piece of tech in there. _But a girl can dream._

"Okay, Lois." His voice behind her made her jump. When she had gotten to the copy room, Clark had made her turn away from him. She still couldn't get past how much The Blur had sounded like Clark. Then again, people always sound different over the phone. Besides, she knew better, now. "You ready?"

The obvious nerves in his voice made her giddy. He was just too darn adorable, all nerd-chic. She rolled her eyes at herself before turning to face him.

"Let's do this."

/

Clark had his back to Lois. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was a smart woman, and they had gotten close over the years, enough so that she could read him about as well as Chloe. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that he couldn't tell her the truth about him. Which meant he had to come up with some other thing he might be trying to hide from her. The idea had at first made him laugh, and then cringe. Ultimately, he had known it would work. So here he was in the copy room, back to Lois, pulling a pair of reading glasses out of his pocket.


	6. Chapter 6

Clark sat in the loft staring out at the open night sky. Shelby was laying at his feet, asleep. Lois had taken his admittance of bad eye-sight quite well. So well, in fact, she had rewarded him with one of the most passionate kisses of his life. He hadn't stopped smiling since. After they had finally found the will power to separate from each other, Clark had realized a very imminent need to discuss what had happened.

By the end of that short conversation they had loaded into the elevator on their way to grab a coffee and as Lois had put it "ice cream and chalupas, picnics in the park, dancing in the rain. And you will take me to a monster-truck rally." It had taken every muscle in his body to not strip her in the elevator. In hindsight, that probably would have sent her back to the airport - this time for a full year hiatus.

After spending some much needed time together drinking their coffee, they had gone their separate ways. Work would be coming early the next morning, and after the day they had just had, they would be needing all the rest they could afford. He knew he should be in his bed right now, but the idea of sleep just seemed pointless. He was wide awake, and since caffeine didn't affect him, he had a feeling it was the constant replay of that copy room kiss.

Lois had started to walk away from him, as if she were leaving the small space, content with the new knowledge of Clark's admitted near-sightedness. Then, before she reached the door, she had turned back to face him, a look in her eyes he'd never seen. Clark had been expecting her to say some snarky one-liner, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she had kicked a bundled stack of papers at his feet and sauntered (that was the only accurate adjective to describe it, and he'd tried many others) toward him, mounting the papers and planting her lips against his. As surprised as he had been, it didn't take him any time to respond. With a firm hand on her back and the other supporting her neck, he had kissed her like the world depended on it. In all honesty, he felt like the world just might come to an end if he let her go.

He had the sudden sensation he was falling and sat bolt upright. He must have dosed off while re-living the feel of Lois's soft lips. That thought made him grin stupidly._ I am in so much trouble._

/

Chloe frowned at the monitor. Her heart sank. She grabbed her cell and dialed the number from memory, attempting to swallow the knot forming in her throat and failing. As it rang, she remembered the conversation she had shared with Jor-El, the flesh and blood one.

"_If it wasn't for Zod, I wouldn't be here, and neither would my son."_

"_I'm afraid you've only lived half the story. There's a few more chapters on Zod that you still need to hear. And I'm gonna warn you... it doesn't have a happy ending."_

The ringing stopped as his voice mail picked up, "Clark, call me." She knew the message was lacking description, and purpose. From her, that was the best way to get his full attention.

"_Clark is the most amazing person I've ever met. And your guidance helped make him into the man he is."_

"_I worry that he isn't the only one I've influenced. Perhaps I played my part in making Zod the man he became."_

"_Look, whatever you did to him, Zod is the only person responsible for choosing to become a monster."_

She really hated always being right. Her proof was devastating. A huge part of her didn't want to tell Clark what she had found. If, however, the Earth was going to stand a chance of existing a decade from now, she had no choice.

She heard the 'whoosh' of his arrival and her frown deepened.

"What's up?" He was trying to wipe the smile off his face, unsuccessfully.

"Sorry, to pull you away from Lois, but..." It was harder than she thought to formulate the words, especially as she couldn't help but notice his more than stellar mood. Why did she always have to be the party pooper?

"Chloe? Is everything okay?" He moved toward her, a hand outstretched. And there went his good mood.

Before he could quite reach her she stepped back, putting space between them. Well, it wasn't like she had an option here, he had to know. "I think there's something you need to see." She turned to the closest monitor and pulled up the information she had finally deciphered.

/

Sickness isn't something Clark has had a lot of experience with. Something he did understand, too well, was the agonizing pain of Kryptonite. And right now, he felt as if someone had just sliced through his gut with a dagger made from the horrid green rock.

The smile that had seemed permanent the last few days had vanished from his lips as he'd studied the screen. Chloe's research showed the true outcome of the completed towers – the disappearance of the yellow sun. He would lose his powers. That wasn't even the bad part though. The Kandorians, Zod's small army, would have _their_ powers. And if that wasn't bad enough, according the calculations Chloe was running, the new red sun would completely destroy Earth, and quickly.

"We need to take action Clark." She had her arms crossed over stomach. He pulled his gaze away from her and focused back on the monitor. How was he supposed to face her? It was his own people who were planning this. How could he not feel some portion of responsibility?

"What am I supposed to do?" It wasn't as if he could just burn down the towers, someone could get hurt.

"I don't know, yet. But we can't let those towers go online!" Chloe sat down at her main desk and typed away.

Clark glanced between Chloe and the information she had displayed for him. There had to be some way to delay their grand opening. He just had to figure out what.

"When is this going down?"

"In two days." _That doesn't give me much time. _Clark wanted to laugh. Not a funny, 'ha ha' laugh. No, he wanted to erupt into a fit of psychotic rolling laughter, a 'it's the end of the world as we know it' laugh.

/

TO: Lois Lane ( dailyplanet . com)  
>FROM: Speedy Gonzales (<span>speedy me . com<span>) Our fears have been realized. Once the towers go online, the radiation will transform our sun. This won't cause any obvious damage at first. However, as time goes on, our Earth will be destroyed. I have attached all the research to this e-mail, as well as stored it on a zip drive that has been mailed to The Daily Planet, C/O you. Please, keep the zip drive away from work, just as a precaution. This story MUST break before the towers are booted up, in two days. Thank you for all your help on this. Sometimes, exposure is the strongest weapon. Your Phone-booth Caller

Lois scrolled hurriedly through the file attachments, her heart racing. She couldn't pretend to understand all of what her eyes were seeing, but the small bits that did compute made her blood run cold. These reports promised a post-apocalyptic world. She looked around her monitor, hoping to see Clark there, even though she knew he had gone to grab a coffee with Chloe.

"I have delivery for a Ms. Lane?" Lois swirled around in her chair, charging the delivery boy.

"That's me!" She grabbed the pen, scribbling her name on his signatures sheet, and yanked the package from his hand. She was mildly aware of the stunned expression on his face, but the world was going to end and she didn't have time to explain her brashness to the carrier pigeon.

Sitting back down at her desk she ripped open the padded envelope and peaked inside. She could see the small device at the bottom and grabbed her coat. There was no time to waste; she needed to get this to a safe place. It took her less than a full second to realize where that was. Smiling at her own quick thinking, she slipped on her coat and headed to the elevator. Part of her wanted to call Clark, to tell him everything she had learned over the past weeks. But to tell him, would be to involve him. She couldn't do that, she cared too much for him to put him in harm's way. Besides, The Blur was on the case with her, she was as safe as possible with _him_ looking after her.

/

Clark was pacing at his desk. _Where could Lois have gone in the middle of the day?_ They were supposed to be working on their tower story. He sighed. It was probably best that she wasn't around. He needed to be able to think clearly, and the closer he was to Lois, the less clear his mind became.

He and Chloe had spent a good thirty minutes all but arguing about how to handle the current situation. He sunk into his desk chair and dropped his head into his hands. This day couldn't get any worse. He knew that Oliver and probably the rest of the league would side with Chloe. They would want to charge in and destroy the Kandorians.

It wasn't that Clark didn't think that would be an easy answer to the problem at hand, but there was something biting at the back of his thoughts. His father's last words kept coming to mind.

"_Kal-El... I'm so proud of you- So proud."_

"_Please... don't go. I can save you."_

"_Save... Zod."_


	7. Chapter 7

Lois stared at the package in her hands. This new package had shown up without warning. Considering the story she was wrapped up in, who could blame her for being a little wary of opening envelopes without return addresses? _It'll be fine, just open it slowly Lois. _She slipped her finger inside the lip and pulled, ripping it open carefully.

Inside she found a stack of papers. _Harmless enough._ She scanned over them, her eyes narrowing. She had enough on her plate already, but this was too much to set aside. Two murders, and a huge cover-up story. She tapped her pen against her lips. Well, the tower story was at a standstill until she had her meeting with Tess later about running it. So, she might as well get started on her next headline. She glanced around the bull-pen wondering where Clark was currently hiding.

She knew the lack of _them-time_ had been partly her own doing, but she still missed him. Something about having him by her side to bicker with lifted her spirits. She shrugged and dug into the papers laid out on her desk. She had lots to sort through. The anonymous source had sure done their homework, now Lois just had the task verify everything.

A few hours later she was standing outside a museum hoping the man who owned it would be able to give her a quote for the article. All the facts seemed golden and now she just needed to add life to the story, a little pizazz. It was, after all, a few decades old.

She knocked on the door and it slid open easily. With a raised eyebrow she realized the door was already open. Deciding there must be someone inside, she placed a careful foot in and stretched out her neck.

"Hello?" She wondered if she should just walk on in. "Hello?"

/

Clark's heart stopped. "Lois? What's she doing here? She shouldn't be in the middle of this."

He thought she had been busy on her own story. Then he mentally smacked himself because obviously her story had led her here. He couldn't quite make sense of that. What story would she be looking into that would bring her here? He frowned.

Doctor Fate turned to face him, "She is the key."

Clark was really getting tired of the cryptic dialogue. Whatever he meant, Clark would have to wait to find out. Before Lois could decide to come the rest of the way in, he sped out.

/

Lois took a breath and pushed the door the rest of the way open, stepping completely over the threshold.

"Hello?" She kept her feet moving, but if she moved any slower she's be frozen. _Careful Lois, this is the part where the doomed girl runs into the guy with the hockey mask._ She scoffed at herself.

"Greetings."

Lois couldn't stop the shocked gasp that left her lips. Blood cold, heart pounding, she turned, not quite sure what she was expecting to see. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't what she saw. "What the..." She moved to her left, "What is this? Reverse Halloween?"

The guy in front of her was wearing an honest to goodness super-hero costume, golden helmet included. "Nice helmet."

He tilted his head to the side as if studying her. "Thank you."

That almost made Lois laugh. That reply was so simple and human. The complete opposite of what she was looking at. She focused her mind on the task at hand. Maybe this was the guys she was looking for. "I was looking for Carter Hall."

"He's not here." Lois had her doubts about that. _But, okay._

She tried again, "Apparently, he was part of a group of masked mystery men that were railroaded out of business. I'm guessing you were one of them." _Or him?_

The masked man took a step toward her and she backed away, "I see your fate, Lois Lane. You are the one he will need. He is the one you will need."

This guy was sending her some weird vibes all of a sudden. If she was the one Carter needed, then why didn't golden boy just tell her where to find him. She wanted to voice as much, but for some reason all she could produce was a simple, "What?"

"The savior," her masked friend was moving closer and closer, and Lois began backing away, "the one who will lead us all. The sentient power." All of a sudden, Lois was back on the top step outside the door. She frowned as the door shut in her face, and then she sighed.

"I wonder if he does horoscopes."

She shook her head and headed back to the Planet.

/

Clark wasn't proud of his no-nonsense attitude toward Tess, but lately she hadn't given him much of a choice. He sat at his desk, scanning over the folders Tess had been looking through at Lois's desk. The idea that someone was leading Lois into this mess boiled his blood. He was supposed to keep her safe, but how could be do that if others were leading her straight into danger. _What is wrong with me?_

Clark knew better than to think that way. Lois Lane had never needed help finding danger. It was one of the things that had irked him most about her in the beginning of their friendship, and part of what made her so alluring to him now.

"Clark Kent." Clark swallowed. He knew Lois's voice, and the tone she was using now was a dangerous one. "And to think I was actually looking forward to breakfast with the Daily Planet's mild-mannered no-show." She dropped a stack of papers onto her desk before placing her hands there as well and leaning onto them.

Clark looked her up and down as he stood from his seat, rounding their desks to face her. "Late night? I heard you were working on some kind of murder case."

"Case-es. Plural. And I've got my hands on a case full of classified intel. Like, double-super classified." She held up the files she had dropped a minute ago and walked past him. He couldn't help but smile at her, letting it turn into a sneer as she passed.

"Mind if I take a look?" He followed her out the door.

"Usually, we're a great team, but you already decided to go it solo today, so I just followed suit." He was in no mood to have a - what do they call it? _Lov__er's quarrel?_

"I'm sorry that I was out, Lois, but maybe I can assist you. We could be like Woodward and Bernstein. Clark and Lois."

"Lois and Clark." Well, at least he knew she was listening. But did she really have to cut him off like that?

"If it's so double-super classified, how did you get on the case, Lois?" He wondered absently where exactly she was headed.

"I was handpicked by an anonymous source. The two people that were murdered had criminal records, but it's all fabricated. Clark, they were vigilantes like The Blur. Part of an underground group of honest-to-goodness spandex-sporting superheroes. I met one of them. He was wearing a gold-plated helmet and ax, which actually looked pretty good." She was heading for the copy room, did they really just walk in a huge circle? Then his mind fogged momentarily, the last time they had been alone in the copy room... He shook his head.

"And that's all you know?'

"No. Their leader, a man named Carter Hall," Lois handed Clark a photo of Carter, or Hawkman, "almost killed one of their enemies. Someone named The Icicle. He had a son, and here's the weird thing." Clark pulled his eyes away from Carter's mug shot to look her in the eyes. He had to be careful, he could get seriously lost in those eyes. "They both have special powers, and he was plucked from juvie by someone very high up. Sealed records." Clark raised his eyebrows appropriately. "Now, I'm not supposed to know this, but there were other bad guys that these underground heroes fought, and every single one of them was released from prison secretly. They and their records... M.I.A." She turned back to her files.

Suddenly it all fit. "Someone's collecting them." He tried made it sounds like a questionable assumption.

/

Lois dropped the paper on her desk and grabbed her coat. She glanced over at Clark, now staring at his desk with a blank look in his eyes.

"Kent, you up for a coffee?" His eyes rose to meet hers and she smiled warmly. She wished she believed in fate, and that Clark could be her 'savior'. She thought she would enjoy that, maybe. The way he'd smiled when he'd asked her if she believed in fate had melted her heart. Now, the thought of going home to her quiet apartment alone made her frown.

"Ya know, it's been kind of a long day." He looked up at her with apology in his eyes.

She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile and waved him off. "That's okay. I have an early day tomorrow!" She grabbed her coat and headed out to the elevator. As the doors opened and she stepped inside, she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"But maybe, a movie? That way we can relax, instead of drinking caffeine?" Lois wanted to turn around and kiss him, but refrained. She really wanted to take this slow. She was the queen of rushed relationships and didn't want to ruin this before it even got started.

"That sounds nice. My place?" He followed her the rest of the way in to the elevator and agreed with a short nod. Lois had a feeling this was going to be one of the best nights of her life, and she couldn't wait! She had even picked-up her place that morning. _Good intuition, or maybe just high hopes._


	8. Chapter 8

Lois had decided to work from home; less chance of getting Clark involved that way. She had gotten her tower story approved by Tess, (_surprise_) and was putting together her copy. She had sent the new photojournalist out to the site for a few pictures. She'd need something special and dark to go with this conspiracy.

Lois had been slightly disappointed, and yet extremely relieved, when Clark had dozed off during their movie night. When he had woken up with her cuddled up against him 'asleep', he'd carried her to bed, tucked her in, and taken off. Was it possible for him to be any more perfect? She highly doubted it. Any other guy would have tried to squirm his way into her bed. The fact that she half wished he had was not the point.

She smiled as she typed, her mind flooded with the feeling of being in his arms, pretending to be fast asleep, as he carried her to her bed. His arms were so strong, and she had felt so secure. He'd laid her gently down, pulling her covers up around her and then hesitated, albeit briefly, before pressing his lips against her forehead. Her heart had pounded so fast and hard, she wondered if it might break free from the confines of her rib cage and smack into his stomach.

Her phone buzzed. She had it set to silent but the vibration against the table still caused her to jump. Already distracted, she picked it up smiling at her screen. _A text from Clark._

_Good Morning._

She smiled, and typed a quick reply.

_Yes it is._

She sat the phone down and focused back on her story. This had to be finished in time to print in the evening edition, or the Earth would be under extreme duress. _Understatement o__f the centur__y, Lane._ Two more paragraphs in, her phone buzzed again.

_You aren't at your desk._

Her laughter filled the otherwise silent apartment. She shook her head in amusement and typed.

_Very perceptive today._

She hadn't even sat down her phone before it vibrated again.

_I'd ask where you are, but I have a feeling you would have already told me if you wanted me to know._

So apparently, yes, he could be more perfect. Coming from any other male on the planet, that would be a fishing statement, hoping for her to fill him in. From Clark, it was an acknowledgment of space. She didn't reply; there was no need. She got back to work.

/

"Okay, Chloe. Lois is hard at work on some story she wont let me in on, so we have some time to work through this." The last word was a bit mumbled as he took a quick glance around Watchtower and his heart sank.

"So - I thought this was something we all needed to be clear on." Chloe was standing a few feet from Clark, with Oliver and the rest of the crew behind her.

Clark took a deep breath and waited.

"We have an additional problem. Someone has been e-mailing Lois on the regular under your assumed alias." She was chewing her bottom lip. _Very bad sign._

"Do we know who?" He took a step forward.

"Well, I have a pretty good assumption. They've been covering their tracks pretty well, but all the information they've been communicating about has to do with the towers. As far as I know, the only ones besides ourselves who know the truth about the towers are Zod's crew and maybe Tess."

"So, either Zod has a rogue player on his team, or Tess is actually trying to stop him the only way she knows how." Clark let out a tired sigh.

"We're sure Lois's story, the one she's keeping from you, is about the towers. If we're right, then it has to be Tess, otherwise she wouldn't have given Lois a green light to print. She's got the Planet's newest photographer over at the site right now, taking pics to run with her story."

"Clark, I hate to think that a news story is the only weapon we have to protect our planet. We need a back-up plan." Oliver took a step and stood at Chloe's side. They all must have talked this over before he had arrived. _Good to know._

"Look, let me talk to Faora. We have a good relationship. If I can get some information from her, I may be able to keep them from powering up the towers, indefinitely. Just give me a chance." He hated to think of the sacrifices (_on both sides_) that would have to be made in an all out battle. Clark was not ready to accept that the only remaining members of his species, aside from himself, were all evil to the core.

"You have 'til the presses roll this evening." Chloe wasn't giving him an ultimatum. He knew her better than that, but it still sounded a lot like one. And it still made his hair stand up on the back of his neck.

"I'll meet you back here before then." And he was gone. He had to talk to Faora.

He was happy when he found her alone. She and her sister were sharing an apartment Clark had found for them after creating them new identities. He was hoping he could help all the Kandorians do the same. At first, Zod had been maniacally threatened by Clark's helping his people. They had fought about it, but once Clark had made his point, that he had no desire to rule the Kandorians, Zod had backed down. Clark knew the other man was still upset, he was just hoping he could fix the rift between them before it was too late.

He wanted nothing more than to make his father proud, and if saving Zod was what it would take, he had to do everything in his power to try.

/

Lois climbed the steps back up to her apartment. Needing a coffee break, she was very happy that the Talon was up and running again. There was nothing better than fresh, fancy coffee just downstairs from your living space.

/

Clark didn't like the idea of trying to convince someone that the person they loved was not who they believed them to be. But it was the only way to get Faora to tell him the truth. He had evidently succeeded because she was now filling him in on the real plan for the towers.

"Faora, when these towers go online, you may all gain powers. But the truth is, I will lose mine, and this Earth - It will be destroyed." He wasn't sure how else to tell her. He hoped blunt was the right course.

She looked up at him and he could see the true despair in her eyes, her hands hovering over her stomach. Clark swallowed, not wanting to entertain the thought that had crossed into his mind. He scanned Faora's mid-section and frowned.

"I'm so sorry." Clark blinked back tears realizing that he hadn't just revealed the truth about her major - her commanding officer – he had just told her what a truly horrible man her lover was, the father of her unborn child.

"It is not your apology to give." A single tear rolled down her cheek and he wanted to take it all back. He wanted to stop her grief. "I have to get back to my brothers. They all need to be told the truth."

Clark could only nod. He had no more words.

"He's looking for the book of Rao. It's the final piece of the towers. Without it, they will not harm your planet." At that she turned and left him alone.

Clark sped back to Watchtower where Chloe was now alone, waiting. She looked as tense as he'd ever seen her and he hated it. He hated all the pain and misery he had caused her, had caused Earth over the years. If Chloe had heard him enter, she didn't show it. She was typing away on a monitor across the room, her bluetooth headset on her ear.

"I know what we have to do."

She turned, surprised, and met his eyes.

"Good. Care to fill me in?" She glanced at him for only a moment before turning back to the monitor.

"Where is everyone?" He took a single step closer. _This is not the time for__ small talk, Cl__ark._

"They are tracking down the Kandorians. If that tower goes online, we need to have eyes on them all."

"If we can find this book of Rao, then it won't matter. Faora says it's the final piece of the towers. Without it, they are harmless. We have to get to it before Zod finds it."

Chloe turned her head, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Did she give you any ideas where to look?"

"From what I could gather, Zod thinks Jor-El had it with him before he was captured." Faora had made some mention that Zod believed Jor-El was looking for a place to hide it, which was why he hadn't sought out and joined the Kandorians immediately. 

"I didn't see anything on him. Though he had been at your house for a little while before I showed up." Clark watched her move to another monitor. She typed for a moment while he stared at the screen and waited.


	9. Chapter 9

Lois clicked the send button and pulled the zip drive free of her laptop. The story was complete and on it's way to final editing. She put the zip drive in her purse and grabbed her car keys. Time to make an appearance at work. If she were honest with herself, she just wanted to see Clark's smile. But when was Lois ever truly honest with herself? _Never._

On the drive to Metropolis she had time to think. It seemed every song on the radio made her think about another aspect of her and Clark's developing relationship. She had been adamant about taking things slow, and she truly meant it. That didn't mean, however, that she wasn't wishing for time to speed up. She couldn't wait until enough time had passed that they were in that comfortable place. Although, the beginning was usually the most exciting part of a relationship. She frowned.

What if, as time went on, Clark became less interesting. _Well, that would never happen._ But what if Lois became less interested in Clark. That was completely possible. Look at her and Oliver. The guy runs around the city in costume, saving people, and she walked away from him. Then again, maybe simple, normal Clark was exactly what she needed.

She parked her car and walked out onto the street. The sun was shining and she couldn't help but just breathe in the smells of the city. She immediately regretted it. Cities don't typically smell the best, and Metropolis was no exception. She held her purse tight against her as she walked to the front doors of the planet. She wanted to be there before Tess finished reading the article.

/

"When I asked you to help me back-track my father's steps, I didn't realize you'd be able to just pull up video because you _wired my house_!" Clark was stunned to be looking at his own home on the monitor, and it was evident in the frustration in his voice. _How could she do something like this?_ If anyone understood his issues with privacy, it would be her.

"Clark, before you burst a blood vessel, let me explain-"

Clark wasn't in the mood to listen to an explanation.

"Seriously, Chloe! How could you? Why didn't you tell me about them?" It wasn't just the fact that she had him on tape, it was mostly that she hadn't let him in on it. He felt extremely exposed. _With good reason._

"Look - Clark, I'm sorry, okay? But I think the cameras may have actually recorded something that might lead us to the book of Rao." She was chewing her lip, and he knew she was truly sorry, but he wasn't ready to forgive this intrusion. _Not yet._ "Look, here. He put something there." She was pointing at the wall on screen.

Clark saw the video, and then he was gone, heading to his home. Still angry about the lack of personal, well anything these days, he punched the wall. He frowned immediately; he should have x-rayed it first. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number, still angry.

"Chloe, the Book of Rao isn't here. I know you just came across that footage, but there's got to be something more on it."

"I'm looking at it now, Clark. Jor-El put it in the north wall. I wish I could give you more." He could still hear the apology in her voice.

"Chloe, if that book really holds unlimited power, then we need to find it." He wanted to focus on this; it was the most important thing now. What difference did it make if Chloe was spying on him if the Earth was destroyed? "I got to go."

/

Lois sat across from Tess in the boss's office, waiting. Tess looked up at her and Lois was frustrated by her own inability to read the redhead's expression.

"Very well done, Lois." She closed her laptop. "I noticed you didn't name any sources."

"That's hard to do when all your information is provided anonymously over encrypted emails." She shifted in her seat.

"Well, I'm just glad you took the time to verify the information, and didn't waste any time trying to uncover your source's identity." Tess smiled and Lois thought it looked like an 'I know something you don't want me to' kind of smile.

"Well, I'm nothing if not professional. So, I take it my article will replace that garbage about the DA's release on the front page?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'll see what I can do. You sure waited until the last moment to get this in."

"I knew it had to be perfect." Lois stood and walked toward the office door. Before reaching it she turned back toward Tess. "Sorry to ruin your big break."

Lois didn't see Tess smiling as she closed the door behind her. She didn't see Tess pulling up an email account and deleting it from existence. She certainly didn't see Tess sigh in relief.

/

Clark was standing on a roof, listening from a distance as Faora informed her fellow Kandorians of the truth about Zod. She would be a great leader; he was proud of her and of her strength. She finished her speech and left them all to think over her words. She stepped out onto the street below and Clark watched as Zod rounded the corner. He frowned. Faora put on a mask of emotions, and walked away with him.

Clark knew he had other things to deal with. He hated to leave her with that man, but right now, he had no choice. The evening papers would already be printing. Zod would find out that his secrets had been exposed, and Clark fully expected him to become even more determined to complete the towers. Faora told him Zod had not yet uncovered the book of Rao, but the tower's unveiling was set for the morning. He thought maybe Faora didn't have all the answers.

Chloe had been texting him different locations to search. The newest one was the mansion. Evidently, she'd found something in her surveillance videos that had her convinced that Tess was the one who had taken Jor-El away from the Kent farm. Of course Tess would be wrapped up in this. He should have known she knew more than Chloe could prove she did.

He was thankful she was at the Planet. He searched the Mansion room by room, but didn't find the book. In the basement, he stopped to think. Anger and frustration swelled inside him and smashed a fist through the shelf next to him.

His phone rang and he pulled it out. The number was blocked.

"Clark? It's Vala. I can't find Faora." Clark closes his eyes, remembering that last time he'd seen her, only an hour or so ago, walking away with Zod.

"I'll be right there." He closed the phone and headed back to the city.

/

"No luck at the Mansion, Chloe. But I need a favor. Can you use Watchtower to track down where Zod and Faora went? I saw them walking down Clay toward Market a little over an hour ago." Clark was currently standing on the same spot he'd been at then.

"Sure, Clark, is everything okay?" He wanted to tell her - to confide in her what he was feeling, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I'll let you know as soon as you get me a location."

"Okay, I found them, I'm sending you the coordinates." Clark heard the beep and looked down at his phone; it was only a few blocks away.

He sped over to the roof of the building Chloe had sent him to. Standing still he listened closely for their voices.

"I found a young and beautiful cadet who would become my trusted right hand. Oh, you were so brave in the face of death. I knew then that you would be a true partner. I've trusted you, for so very long - depended on you, across time and space. But in your eyes, I just see contempt. I see betrayal. Now, why would you turn your back on me? I shared my bed with you." Clark didn't like the tone of Zod's voice.

"I didn't turn my back on you. You turned your back on us when our only crime was trying to forge a life for ourselves on this planet." Clark couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips. He'd finally convinced them that adapting was the right thing to do.

"If I ever learned that insurrection had spread across my ranks, if I ever discovered that my men had aligned themselves against me, I would raze this planet. I would burn it to the ground till the last ember went cold beneath my boot." Clark swallowed. He didn't want to admit it, but from those words, it didn't sound like he would be able to fulfill his father's dying wish. Saving Zod might not be something he was capable of. "Now, only I will lead us to the next age. All will follow Zod."

"You already sacrificed one world for your ego." _Score one for Faora._ Clark worried what could result from her reminding him of his previous failings.

"You know nothing of sacrifice." Even from the roof, Clark could hear that those words were spat.

"I know more than you ever will."

"Kneel."

"Never." Clark swelled with pride as the person who had believed in Zod the most finally made the right decision and stood up to him.

And then he fell to his knees. The sound of her soft grunt froze him in place, his hands on the ground, his eyes shut tight. It took him a few seconds to regain his strength. He sped down to the lower level where they were. From the shadows he could see that there was no saving her. All the powers he possessed, and there was nothing he could do for her now. He watched as Zod fell to her side, his head on her stomach. If he didn't hate the man so much, he might actually feel for him.

Clark stepped forward. "She was carrying your child." He said it softly, but the words still echoed in the open space. Zod didn't move. Clark moved further into the open.

"I heard the heartbeat myself. She was carrying a strong child." He watched as Zod reached for her hand, uncurling her fingers.

From them he took the flower she had been carrying, the flower from the pregnancy ceremony she had told Clark about. Zod's eyes flooded with tears. He was a broken man, and still Clark could not empathize with him.

"I will not let you ruin this planet as you did Krypton." And with that, he left Zod alone to mourn.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – I am so sorry this has taken so long to update. I hope everyone enjoys this final chapter. This is a big milestone for me as I am finally bringing to a close the first story (technically second, but the first has been shelved indefinitely) I started posting on FF. Enjoy!**

…..

Chloe handed him the current paper and crossed her arms over her chest. Clark looked over the article. Lois had done a brilliant write-up exposing the truth behind the RAO towers, and yet all her information seemed to protect LuthorCorp.

"Tess was her source." Clark dropped the paper onto Chloe's desk, not a hint of uncertainty in his words.

"Yes. She used The Blur's identity to get Lois's trust, and then fed her all the facts."

"Lois could have been hurt, this could have ended _very_ badly. She's lucky Zod has been too busy searching for the book of Rao." He sat down with a sigh. "It's my fault. I stopped communicating with her as The Blur to protect her. All that did was force her to go elsewhere to get the information she wanted, and needed. So when The Blur made contact, even through a different venue, she jumped at the chance. At least Tess only wanted to stop the towers from being completed, but what if she'd tried to hurt Lois, or use her to get to me?"

Chloe walked slowly to his side and tentatively reached a hand out, laying it softly on his shoulder. "You can't protect her from everything, or from everyone. Just be happy Lois is strong, and smart. She's mostly capable of protecting herself."

Clark was still upset with Chloe in regards to many of her recent choices, but he couldn't argue with her about that statement. Lois was strong. And though he had been there to help her many times, she had also helped him.

"Still, there are a few things I need to do." Enough worrying about Lois and what could have been, it was time to take action.

Chloe nodded, dropping her hand to her side. "Go get 'em."

/

Clark stared down at the phone booth and sighed. He hated to put her through this, but he knew he didn't have any other choice. He wasn't about to lose her for some personal wish fulfillment. Lois rounded the corner and he dialed the number; he smiled as she picked up her pace to answer the phone.

By the end of the conversation, Clark was having a hard time keeping the tears in his eyes from falling. He hated that he couldn't be just _one_ person for her. She was torn between the farm boy who sat across from her at work, and the hero that had confided in her. If he hadn't seen with his own eyes how much danger it would put her in, he might have jumped down and grabbed her right then and told her the truth.

Instead, he watched her tears fall as she pleaded with him to not do this, to not cut her off. He watched as she hung up the phone and said to herself the word that hurt her the most, "Goodbye."

Clark moved to a distant rooftop with a clear view of the offending towers. He had this strange urge to just release all the fire inside him on the towers, but shook it away. Hopefully, after Lois's article Tess would be able to convince the investors to just tear down the buildings. Otherwise, he might end up getting to indulge that urge to fry them to the ground. That thought put a smile on his face.

He might have to talk to Tess tomorrow, just to ensure her plans.

/

Lois brushed her teeth and pulled on her pajamas. She had been waiting to hear from Clark since they hadn't seen each other all day, but it was approaching ten and he still hadn't called. Honestly, she wasn't even sure she wanted him to. Saying goodbye to The Blur, _again_, had brought up all sorts of confusing feelings that she hadn't wanted to face. Spending time with Clark might not go so well.

As she curled up on her couch with a pint of ice cream, she heard a knock at her door. She sat the ice cream down on the coffee table and stood to let Clark in, 'cause really, who else would be knocking on her door at this time of night?

"Hey." He looked around the room, noticing the ice cream, and smiled.

"Everything okay Lois? I know you like to lose yourself in a pint of rocky road when life throws you a curve ball. And after that front pager you landed today, I expected you to be in high spirits. A case of beer keeping you company instead of frozen sugar."

She walked away from him and headed back to her couch, and her ice cream. If he was really worried and felt she was down about something, then why was he smiling about it? _Cocky son-of-a-gun._ "It's nothing. I was just starting to wonder if I would see you today." She knew he wasn't fooled when he sat down on the couch, leaving a good amount of space between them. Maybe he didn't think highly enough of himself to assume he was the cause of her mood. She frowned, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Lois? You know you can tell me anything." His words were sincere, but there was an edginess to them that gave Lois pause.

/

And Clark took a deep breath, knowing that having_ this _conversation face-to-face with Lois would be even more difficult than the one he'd had to endure over the phone from a distance. And he was right. She admitted to his face that she had hidden her communications with The Blur from him, and that it wasn't just because of the story. From the way she said it, she seemed to feel as if she'd been cheating on him, with himself. And then he could hear the heartbreak in her voice when she informed him that it was over now, he (The Blur, because obviously Clark did) didn't want her in his life anymore.

He wanted to reach out to her, but held his hands still. "Well, there's someone right here who still does."

He had wanted to make her happy, to take away her frustration. But she only frowned deeper. "You don't have to be okay with it. Clark - It's not right for me to ask that of you." She dropped her gaze, staring into the container on her lap. _Oh. Maybe he wasn't what she needed?_

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?" Clark was so torn. It made his heart swell that Lois cared that much for him, the trench-coated him, but it broke as he wondered what that meant for them.

"It's not like this - with you." She motioned at the space between them. "I wish you could understand what it felt like to have this - a calling, a duty to people, and the world. That made my feelings for you and everything else seem -"

Clark couldn't stop the words from tumbling over his lips, "Selfish? Like there's a whole world out there that needs you, but if you take anything from it for yourself, it's at someone else's expense?" He knew exactly what she was trying to say, he struggled with it himself, everyday. His heart lifted a little as she nodded. "Lois, I do understand."

She looked up at him, locking her eyes with his, "How?"

Clark mentally smacked himself for that one. _Right, cause I'm the Blur. _He was grateful for all his experience in subject changes and deflection. "I guess with him gone, the question is - Am _I_ enough?"

/

Lois stared at Clark, his eyes holding so many emotions it was making her seasick. Or, maybe that was her own heart's inability to pick an emotion of its own to stick with. She didn't want to ever break eye contact with him, it was so warm and welcoming, but at the same time, it was just too intense.

She dropped her gaze again and focused on the creamy frozen mixture she saw there. Her mind raced over everything, all the facts. Clark shifted on the couch, moving a little closer and she knew the truth. She sat the ice cream container back on the coffee table before turning to face him.

She nodded, unable to actually say the words, and then wasn't really sure what to do. But that was okay, because, thankfully, Clark did. He reached out, pulling her across the couch and into his lap, crushing his lips into hers. She sighed into the kiss and sank against him. Her heart fluttered as she felt him smile, and she knew she would never regret this decision. Clark was real, he was always here, he was all she ever needed.

Somewhere in the apartment her phone buzzed happily, and Lois thought maybe she really didn't need to get so many notifications about The Blur's activities. Clark was laying her back on the couch and she giggled. _Interruptions are highly unnecessary._


End file.
